Daily News, Sat Jun 14, 2003: Every fairy
tale has its own bete noire - A 'Once upon a time' or 'happily married ever
after', also usually demands a thorn. To Mignonne Rutnam, as she was then, her
fairy tale began, when she met Tony Fernando, when she was just sweet sixteen.
He was first her Manager, and later, both husband and Manager. The thorn to
them, was Tony's illness and death, which was to take him away last year, after
a 38 year old marriage, made in heaven.

Mignonne, has always been my favourite
female Sri Lankan singer. Her voice in my ears, is like sun warmed honey, and
no-one, then or now, can hold a candle to her. Each one of us takes the death of
a loved one in a different way. Each of us swims in our own pool of grief; our
own flood of memories. Loneliness becomes constant, memories become companions
and darkness becomes a haven for fantasy. Mignonne's first reaction to the
shock, was to take herself away; to spend time with her daughter in Dubai. She
then returned to immerse herself in work.

"Tony knew that I wanted to do this
CD, and it was his dream too. Music to me, is a gift from God; I am forever in
his debt, for this wonderful gift. My mother helped me to develop it, by her
knowledge of it, and her encouragement. But it was because of Tony's inspired
management that my music sprouted and blossomed. I worked hard, to see that this
dream of ours, Tony's and mine, came true, by producing this album. It seemed to
be an eternity in the making, but it has been a labour of love, and a total
experience of mind, body and soul", she said of her new CD released
recently.

You have been away a long time. How would
you describe those years? "Working at The Regent, Hongkong, was a truly
enthralling experience. It is a place where the rich and famous gather almost
daily, as you can see from the Daimlers parked outside. It was voted the world's
best hotel, for three years in a row, by The Institutional Investor. It rises
above the glittering lights of Hongkong, on the very edge of the world's most
spectacular harbour".

Mignonne showed me a picture of the room
in which they sang, with enormous glass windows, almost the length and breadth
of the room. She also related an interesting legend about it; that it is built
in the path of the nine dragons, as dragons can walk through glass; so it
doesn't disturb their freedom of movement! The view seems panoramic, and at
night, with an azure sky, the stars would look like diamonds., sparkling on dark
silk.

"Our time there was really
wonderful. It was the best years to be there too; meeting interesting people,
organizing and creating music to suit individual tastes. There were various
dimensions to performances; some would like old music, like Joe Loss for
instance. We played at several traditional weddings too, society functions, with
the sophistication of Chanel and Karl Lagerfield clothes, a Cartier launch of
the perfume, 'Panthere', brings back nostalgic memories, of a real live panther,
being carried in on a palanquin, by Nubian slaves. Julio Iglesius, who
popularized that ubiquitous song, 'All the girls I loved before' performed at
shows that we did.

Singers, dancers, comics, Broadway
veterans, brought great entertainment, as well as the celebrity touch to the
performances. So many shows with so many different themes; one was in the
styling of 'In a Persian market', another was 'A night in Manhatten' I created
the whole score of music for many of these shows. Often, after the star of the
evening performed, we would play music for dancing. 2.30 a.m. is the time they
call 'carriages' which means that the function was over and it was time to go
home. Alan Zeman, is a famous figure in HongKong, who owns several clubs and
streets in Hong Kong we played at his son's 'Bar Mitzah and played only jewish
music on that occasion:".

When was the beginning of your
spectacular career in music? "We began right here in Colombo, at the
Coconut Grove at The Galle Face Hotel. Our next spot was The Taj Mahal in
Bombay, then to Singapore, where we won our first international awards. Our
first break in Hong Kong, was at The Talk of the Town, which was a revolving
restaurant. We came back here and performed too, before our long stay in Hong
Kong".

Sohan Peiris says that he owes everything
he is today to Tony and you. What about the original jetliners? "The
original jetliners are scattered all over the world now, but we did get together
for a concert in Australia recently. We are all keen on performing here, where
it all began and are working on it, and trying to work out sponsorship. Tony
managed all hotel musicians in Hong Kong. He was a most gentle ruler, who ruled
his kingdom of music, with a firm, but fair hand.

We formed a company for this and had 16
to 20 musicians under this umbrella. We played for almost every grand opening at
The Regent, where the creme a la creme of Hong Kong would be present. We once
had a millionaire who wanted to have dinner alone with his wife in the
atmosphere of Sherwood Forest, with our band playing soft music.

We created this and he was so happy with
the evening that he gave me a gift of a mink teddy bear. I had to give this to a
child before I returned here, as the mink would not have stood our climate!
Another wonderful memory was 'The Captains Ball', held by the Captain of The Q E
2. We had one band in the foyer, another playing light classical during dinner,
and still another for dancing.

The joy of creating and organizing music
left me little time for boredom. We used to practise two days in the week and
perform for three days in the week. Our apartment was just next to the hotel. It
was great fun while it lasted, but in 1997, we decided come back home, and go
back only for seasons. Our two sons have finished University now and are both
living and working in the US. The last two years for me, were devoted to Tony's
health and everything else came after that. I wanted to launch my CD in
February, but I felt it was insensitive in the midst of the war in Iraq, to
launch a CD, which was a celebration of life".

What of the future? I would like to do
seasons in the US, where my sons are. I would very much enjoy doing the musical
score for a Sinhalese film. I like to be flexible and introduce new concepts in
music". Mignonne's world has been a kaleidoscope; a constantly changing
prism that mixed, mingled and overlapped to create shades and patterns. On
stage, she is the quintessential star of spellbinding presence; shimmering and
shining.

To meet and talk to her on her own, she
is a lovely person, with beauty of soul that somehow shines through. I almost
cried as I listened and watched her on video, singing 'I am proud to be Sri
Lankan', in all three languages, Sinhalese, Tamil and English. The background
showing all the beauties of our country. Our beaches, the ruined cities, temples
and our children of all communities, who are after all our future. This song,
should I think be used on radio, on TV, on Sri Lankan, Airlines and by The
Tourist Board. It is so beautiful and heart warming and could be a pathway to
permanent peace.

"Wherever I may have wandered, I
have never failed to take a part of Sri Lanka with me, and have always projected
my country through my music. I wear either Kandyan saree or 'Redda hatte', and
wear a 'nalal patiya too', when I sing in Sinhalese or Tamil. My heart has
always been right here, in Sri Lanka, and I would like to do more for our
country".

Her soft, mellifluous voice as she
speaks, radiates a special kind of spirituality, charm and originality. As a
composer, lyricist and singer, she has no equal, and is the brightest star of
the musical firmament in our country.